2005 Chapoutier L’Ermite Ermitage Rouge: A 100-Year Wine
Ready to bulk up your Rhône section? This one belongs front and center.
We’re offering the only 6-pack OWC of 2005 Chapoutier L’Ermite Rouge in the U.S. right now - a monumental Syrah from a once-in-a-generation vintage.
A Benchmark of Hermitage
“100-year wine” – Robert Parker
“Legendary vintage” – WineSearcher
“Benchmark vintage for Syrah” – Decanter
When Michel Chapoutier sets his sights on Hermitage, he doesn’t mess around. His single-vineyard bottlings (Les Greffieux, Le Méal, Les Bessards, and L’Ermite) are the crown jewels of the appellation. But L’Ermite is in a league of its own.
The fruit comes from 80+ year-old Syrah vines rooted directly into the granite summit of Hermitage hill, right beneath the historic chapel that defines the region’s skyline. Windswept, sun-drenched, and fiercely rocky, this perch delivers Syrah of epic concentration and longevity. Chapoutier himself has called it the most ageworthy of his wines—and Parker went further, calling these wines “among the world’s greatest.”
The Wine
2005 was a dream year in the Rhône: long, dry, and perfectly balanced ripening conditions. For L’Ermite, that translated into a Syrah that is equal parts muscle and finesse.
On the nose: crushed rock, violet, pepper, roasted meats, and a dark storm of black fruit. The palate is a study in power: dense and monumental, yet lifted by stony minerality and a long, saline finish that refuses to quit. Right now it’s just beginning to soften around the edges but the core remains coiled tight, with decades of evolution ahead.
This isn’t just a wine. It’s a statement piece for your cellar.
Critical Praise
99+ Points | Robert Parker
“Dense purple to the rim, with notes of crushed rock, charcoal, roasted meats, and enormous quantities of blue and black fruits… painfully rich and thick, with mouthsearing levels of tannin and zesty acidity. Monumental!”
98 Points | Wine Spectator
“Supersleek and racy, with layers of red and black licorice snap, currant, plum sauce, coffee, iron, and violet. Incredibly long, with superb minerality that keeps it all harnessed. A steel-plated red that should age beautifully. Collectible.”
If you’re looking for Rhône royalty - a wine that can still be singing in 2050 - this is the one